The perfect fit

Far from the studio, craftsmen hammer ballet shoes with their own rough grace

Ballet is an art from that celebrates elegance and grace, a form of expression that necessitates the most delicate, detailed movements. But it is also an art built upon intense physical labour, and not just that of the dancers. In a factory in London, far from the footlights and the dance studios, a group of men hammer and shape the pink satin pointe shoes worn by professional ballet dancers. In The Perfect Fit, the Brazilian filmmaker Tali Yankelevich blends the stories of dancers and shoemakers, showing that, for both groups, ballet is a world of rough grace and punishing physical trials that rewards patience and persistence.